The Rod of Asclepius remains a symbol of health and medicine around the world to this day. Asclepius was a demi-god son of Apollo who developed such incredible powers of healing under the tuition of...
One would expect "boneless" to describe a man without a lick of bravery. Or perhaps a man without a shred of compassion in a heart of ice. Yet in the case of the infamous Ivar the Boneless, son of...
Étaín is a character from Irish mythology with an extraordinary life story. Her immense physical and spiritual beauty enthralled a member of the fairy folk and made her the heroine of the tale ‘The...
The Black Book is said to hold within its pages all the magical practices which are in opposition to the divine. The idea regarding the existence of such a book is very old and it appears briefly in...
One of the three children of Loki by a giantess (jötunn ) named Angrboða, Fenrir plays an imperative, though short, role in Norse mythology. A wolf of remarkable size and strength, Fenrir has one...
A fairy tree is a type of plant found in Irish folklore. Such trees are believed to be sacred to the fairies, and some believe that they serve as gateways between this realm and that of the fairies...
The Milesians are a legendary race of people mentioned in the Lebor Gabála Érenn (‘ The Book of the Taking of Ireland ’). According to this work, which attained its current structure during the 11 th...
When we think of fairies many of the more popular tales tend to have an almost playful nature but it would be wrong to assume that this is means that fairies are always benign. Many accounts within...
Ancient Greek mythology is filled with heroes, gods, and epic adventures. The stories told in the myths are interesting and engaging enough that most of us will be familiar with at least a few, and...
The 19th century gave us some of the best work on mythology, but much of it has been ignored over time. Since around the 1960s, when excitement was at its peak regarding space travel and the moon...
Diana and Actaeon is a story found in Classical mythology. The myth centers on the hero and hunter Actaeon, who is transformed by the goddess Diana (Artemis to the Greeks) into a stag, after which he...
The Romans were a polytheistic people who worshiped a great number of gods. Nevertheless, the most important gods in the Roman pantheon are the twelve gods and goddesses of the Dii Consentes , who...
The Trojan War cycle is replete with anecdotes of homewreckers and homecomings. Sure, everyone knows the sad stories of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra and Odysseus and Penelope , but there are a few more...
The Romans possessed a rich mythology that exerted (and continues to exert) a significant influence on Western culture. Many Roman myths, specifically those concerning the gods, have their equivalent...
Mount Pentelicus, a mountain near Athens, Greece, has been an important area for thousands of years. It is the location of the ancient quarry from which marble was cut to build the Parthenon and...
The likho is a creature found in Slavic mythology and is believed to be the personification of evil and misfortune. There are various stories about this terrifying creature, usually ending with...
Minerva was an important goddess in the pantheon of the ancient Romans. She was worshipped primarily as the goddess of wisdom. Nevertheless, she was also believed to be the goddess of trade, the arts...
In part one , we noted that the evangelists had set out to compile a record of Jesus’ life forty to sixty years after his crucifixion, a time when there was no eyewitness testimony left to draw from...
Jesus’ supernatural stroll across the Sea of Galilee endures as one of the most popular Christian miracles. The outset of each version is identical: Jesus directs his apostles to row to the other...
Lisa Bitel / The Conversation Santa Claus will soon be coming to town, bringing gifts to children. Santa has several aliases, depending on the part of the world you live in. The English call him...
Myths, legends, and religions tell of gods and goddesses exemplifying all that is good and right in the world. And there are just as many who represent our deepest archetypal sexual desires, taboos,...
The Domovoi is a supernatural creature found in Slavic mythology. These are household sprites that attach themselves to a family and serve as their guardian. As benevolent spirits, the Domovoi would...
The samodiva (known also as samovila or vila; samodivi or samodivas in plural) is a creature found in Balkan, specifically Bulgarian, folklore. In general, these beings are forest spirits or wood...
Sobek, the ancient Egyptian crocodile god of strength and power. His ferocious attributes led Sobek to become a patron of the Egyptian army, a defender of the Pharaoh, and the people of Egypt. The...